Former record-setting Cal quarterback Troy Taylor returned home Monday when he was named Sacramento State’s new football coach.

The 50-year-old Taylor, who spent the past two seasons as Utah’s offensive coordinator, takes over a Hornets team that went 2-8 and 0-7 in the Big Sky Conference under Jody Sears, who was fired last month.

Sears went 20-35 in five years for the Hornets and was named Big Sky co-Coach of the Year after going a school-best 6-2 in conference play last year.

“After a thorough search, I am thrilled to select Troy Taylor to serve as the next head football coach of the Hornets,” said Sacramento State athletic director Mark Orr, also a former Cal player. “He’s an innovative play caller who’s had success at all levels of football. Troy is one of the best quarterbacks to come out of the Sacramento region and has become a nationally respected coach. I am excited to see him help take the program to new heights.”

As a player, Taylor starred at nearby Cordova High in Rancho Cordova, then moved on to Cal from 1986-89, where he became the Bears’ all-time leading passer (8,126 yards) before Jared Goff passed him.

Taylor also served as an assistant coach at Cal from 1996-2000 before becoming a successful high school coach at Sacramento’s Christian Brothers High and Folsom High.

More recently, Taylor has emerged as one of the brightest passing-game coaches in college football. In 2016, Taylor engineered an explosive Eastern Washington offense in 2016 that featured current Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp, then was hired at Utah.

The Utes offense averaged 413.4 yards per game last season and 396 yards per game this year while winning the Pac-12 Conference South title for the first time in school history.

Taylor now embarks on his first head coaching job in college football.

“I am thrilled to be the new head football coach at Sacramento State,” Taylor said in a statement. “My family and I are excited to move back home and take on the challenge of building the Hornet Football program into something the city can be very proud.”